Lever for Change Grant Pitch
We made sure the College of Health and Human Development’s pitch video met the same level of professionalism and care that they put into their research and future application.
I’ve always thought that our recording studio would be perfect for when someone was looking for a professional, polished video at a reasonable cost, and I got to test out that concept recently when I was approached by the Penn State Development office. Their hope was that I could help the Micronutrients and Pregnancy Research lab at the College of Health and Human Development put together a 90-second pitch video required for the Lever for Change grant that the lab was applying for, but with the catch that it was due in just a few days and they didn’t have the budget normally set aside for an application like this.
I was able to convince them that the most economical approach would be to use our studio. Lights, a boomed microphone, and cameras were already set, teleprompter control available, and with the way we record, a live-switched edit could be completed in about an hour after filming. Me being me, I did decide to put a camera on an automated slider to add a little motion to the final product, and of course added a bit of licensed music to hopefully add to the emotional pull of the subject. We also ended up adding some still photos in the form of a short slideshow that showcased the usefulness of the product.
Alison Gernand, head of the lab, stopped in to deliver this pitch, and despite being somewhat new to filming, especially in a studio (and if I say so a bit nervous about the prospect of delivering this message) she did an amazing job. I don’t always recommend using a prompter, but it wound up being the right solution for this project. The final video had a very specific time limit, and having the pitch scripted out meant we could have more control over the pace of the delivery, and meant Alison didn’t have to worry about hitting the same points every run through.
I truly believe that what we make and put out into the world should be the best version possible given the constraints we are dealt with at the time it’s made. Although the grant application stated that shooting this pitch on a cell phone would be acceptable, would it be as effective at delivering the message? Would it adequately convey the years of research that led to this moment? A whole beautiful website is dedicated to the project, so why not create a video that shares the same level of care?
Using our studio, clients can have videos produced professionally, quickly, and affordably. The conventional thinking is that you only get to hit two sides of the triangle, but at CW Studios, we can deliver all three.
Application Video
Behind the Scenes
2024 Renaissance Fund Reception
We made sure that the footage of this event hosted by Alumni Development was as elegant and dramatic as the setting.
Every year, Penn State Alumni Development holds the Renaissance Fund Reception, an event which celebrates yearly honorees of the Renaissance Fund Scholarship. The scholarship helps support academically talented students with the greatest financial need, and the evening gala plays host to the best of our student, university, and local communities.
For the past two years, we’ve been honored to play a small role in the evening’s AV production, as well as being tasked with creating a video archive of the event to send to donors and friends of the honorees to mark the occasion. In addition to projection control, which mostly consisted of a Powerpoint presentation, hangslides with logos, and lyrics to the alma mater, we were also tasked this year with creating a playlist and providing background music for the pre-show cocktail hour. Luckily, the honorees provided pretty specific requests: ‘well-known foot tappers from the ‘30s and beyond, but without lyrics.
While I have a pretty extensive musical background, I thought maybe this could be a challenge taken on by our future AI overlords, and they produced! A search string of ‘upbeat music from ‘x’ decade, without lyrics,’ turned up quite a few hits, and then I was able to aggregate that list and ask for a two hour playlist of a similar nature. At that point, some time was spent in Apple Music creating the list, weeding out the bad seeds, and adding a few of my own that I thought would work well, and voilà, a dj business was born!
For the video production we pulled out all the stops, utilizing Sony cinema-line cameras (FX6 and two FR7s), all with matching full-frame sensors and set to 4k60. PTZ camera control was supported by the RM-IP500 controller, and our new production cart made sure all those connections were tidy. A huge thank you to the Penn Stater AV staff for making sure ‘The Wahlmark’ build order was in place, which involves a couple dry line feeds to the front of the room for those beautiful podium and crowd shots, along with an audio patch from, and to, house sound, and the projector hookup.
We want to thank Penn State Alumni Development for inviting us back to support this event, and we look forward to doing it all again in 2025!
From the Client:
CW Studios has captured several of my events with incredible success. From start to finish, their professionalism and meticulous attention to detail have been truly outstanding. Their customer service is exceptional—they take the time to listen carefully to your needs and consistently go above and beyond to ensure your satisfaction.
The final results were nothing short of stunning, beautifully capturing every detail of the events and highlighting their exceptional skill and creativity.
I couldn’t be happier with their work and wholeheartedly recommend CW Studios to anyone in search of a professional, reliable, and talented team. Thank you for providing such an outstanding experience and delivering a final product that exceeds expectations!
About the Project
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Graphics preparation
Background audio playlist creation
Powerpoint finalization
Qlab show file for projection
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Blackmagic ATEM Live Switching and Record at 4k60fps
ATEM Live Projector Control
Sony FX6 | FR7×2 with GM Lenses
VISCA over IP Camera Control
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Premiere Pro edit with live archive and final donor list
Final archive to Vimeo
Sent for human captioning (Rev)
